Autonomous robotaxi service launched in Beijing

Chinese technology company Baidu has launched the country's first fully autonomous commercial taxi service in Beijing.

The Apollo Go robotaxis will operate at Shougang Park - an industrial park on the west side of Beijing which will be a site for the 2022 winter Olympics.

The firm says the taxis are fully driverless and will offer the first commercial service of its kind in China.

“Introducing unmanned services is an indispensable stage for the commercialisation of autonomous driving,” Yunpeng Wang, Baidu’s Vice President and General Manager of Autonomous Driving Technology, said in a statement.

“Today, we are opening the fully driverless robotaxi services in Beijing for the publ...